​Fanfare for the Common Man (1944)........................................................ Aaron Copland (1900–1990) arr. (2007) Robert Longfield

In 1942, the United States vice-president, Henry A. Wallace, gave a speech that included the phrase, “the century of the common man.” That same year, Eugene Goossens, the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, commissioned fanfares to begin each of his concerts. American composer Aaron Copland’s contribution, its title inspired by the vice-president’s words, was premiered March 12, 1943.

Over the course of his career, Texas native W. Francis McBeth was Professor of Music, Resident Composer, and Chairman of the Theory-Composition Department at Ouachita University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, retiring in 1996. He wrote more than sixty band works that typically are of a serious, even somber, nature. His Chant and Jubilo is no exception, the chant being based on a ninth-century Greek hymn.

On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss (1989).............................................................. David Holsinger (1945)

Born and trained in Missouri, David Holsinger has written many works for band. A church musician for much of his career, he often alludes to biblical events in his compositions. Horatio Spafford wrote the words to “It is Well with My Soul” after losing his fortune in the Chicago fire; then in 1873 his four daughters were passengers on the ill-fated ship the S. S. Ville de Havre. This tender arrangement of Philip Bliss’ 1876 setting of the text captures, and even amplifies, the calming, reflective intent of Spafford’s poem.

In the late 1930s, Clare Ewing Grundman was the band director at Henry Clay High School for a short period of time. He then taught at Ohio State University, where he studied with composer Paul Hindemith. He left that position to serve as the Coast Guard’s chief musician during World War II. His American Folk Rhapsody No. 1 features “My Little Mohee,” “Shantyman’s Life,” “Sourwood Mountain,” and “Sweet Betsy from Pike.”

Lexington March (1943)......................................................................................... Karl King (1891–1971) arr. (1995) James Swearingen

Karl King, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was to the circus march what Sousa was to the military march.

First Light on the Chesapeake (1996)................................................................... James Hosay (1959)

The composer writes, “There are few sights as breathtaking as a clear, summer morning’s sunrise over Chesapeake Bay. This piece paints a picture of those splendid moments. From the quiet, predawn stillness, through the gradual stirring of creatures of the air, land, and water, all of these elements culminate in a triumphant chorus of nature’s glory as another day begins.”